In re Estate of Davidson, No. 306539, 2013 Mich. App. LEXIS 1515 (Mich. Ct. App. Sept. 17, 2013)

(decedent died, leaving a multi-billion dollar estate; the will provided for a specific bequest of annuity payments under two grantor-retained annuity trusts (GRAT) to a foundation; the  residue of decedent’s estate was to be distributed to a pour-over trust, which was to be distributed to a QTIP family trust and to various family members; the spouse was the trustee of the family trust and a beneficiary of specifically bequeathed assets (SBA) pursuant to the terms of the family trust; the will and the trusts provided that transfer taxes were to be paid from property of the pour-over trust, other than the SBAs; overruling the spouse’s objections, the probate court ruled that if the assets in the pour-over trust, not including the SBAs, were insufficient to pay the transfer taxes, those taxes were to be paid from the SBAs before they were paid from the GRAT annuity payments; in vacating that portion of the probate court’s order, the appellate court ruled that the issue of priority as to tax apportionment was not ripe for adjudication; no tax had yet been assessed so an apportionment ruling was premature under MCL 700.3922(5)).